Lower Macungie considering new planning tool in land preservation quest

Amid talk of preserving some of the ever-diminishing undeveloped land, Lower Macungie officials are now broaching a little used planning strategy that could give them more control over the future use of key properties.

The township staff is planning to begin developing an Official Map, a tool that a small number of Pennsylvania municipalities have used to guide future growth and land use. Most notably, it gives a municipality the right to negotiate for and buy land on which development, subdivision or other work is planned.

Going that route would give the township a planning tool that it currently doesn't have at its disposal. The idea has gotten the endorsement of the township's Planning Commission and Environmental Advisory Council.

"It's going to be an official tool and carry legal weight," said Scott Alderfer, chairman of the township's Environmental Advisory Council.

Township commissioners at a recent meeting with the township's planning board indicated they wanted township staff to begin work on a map.

Statewide, only 64 municipalities in 15 counties have adopted those maps, according to the state Department of Community and Economic Development. That includes five in Lehigh County — Catasauqua Borough and the townships of, South Whitehall, Whitehall, Upper Milford and Upper Saucon — and five in Northampton County — Allen, Bushkill, East Allen, Hanover and Moore Townships.

Lehigh County is the only county in the state to adopt an Official Map.

The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code gives municipalities the authority to adopt and use them. The first Official Maps in Pennsylvania were created in the late 1980s. The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources says 1988 amendments to the Municipalities Planning Code made it easier for municipalities and counties to create official maps.

They are not zoning maps, which designate specific land uses for specific areas within a municipality. An Official Map expresses a municipality's interest in acquiring land for public uses, including parks, trails, open space and transportation, in the future.

They can be used for planning of future public streets, public parks and playgrounds, pedestrian walkways, rights of way, flood control basins and various easements.

Governments that plan to adopt an Official Map must provide for a 45-day public review period and one public hearing prior to adoptions.

Municipalities already have powers to take property through the power of eminent domain. An Official Map lays out a township or borough's land use priorities and puts land owners on notice of the municipalities future land use needs.

Listing a property on the map gives land owners and developers notice that a particular piece of property or area of the township is of interest to the municipality. It gives municipalities power to negotiate the purchase of a property or, in some cases, negotiate changes to development plans for land on the map that is targeted for a specific municipal use.

"The most common implementation practice involves negotiations between the municipality and the landowner/developer that result in either the developer constructing mapped improvements, mutually acceptable acquisition of the land or an agreement on an alternative that meets the public need," according to a DCNR Official Map handbook.

In Lower Macungie, township officials have had lengthy discussions about preserving open space that still remains, providing access to more pedestrian walkways and bike lanes and improving roadways and intersections. An Official Map, which would incorporate a number of plans already created, including a regional comprehensive plan, would help in accomplishing all of those goals.

Township Commissioner Ron Beitler called it one of the critical tools the township needs for an aggressive land preservation program.

"By virtue of having that property on an official map, the township can actually utilize what I refer to as a pause button, meaning that if we get a development proposal on a property and we have it targeted for preservation, we can then enact that pause button and essentially get first dibs on that property."

Locally, the tool has most recently been contemplated in Upper Milford Township where supervisors are considering their options in reacting to a housing proposal proposed for potential public recreation or conservation on the township's official map.

Kay Builders has pitched a nearly 200-unit housing development on 33 acres in the area of Mill and Mink Roads, a proposal met with concern by supervisors and other township residents.

The township has a year to decide it wants to condemn the property for recreation or conservation uses.

Richard Koze of Kay Builders said last month that his firm would be "making some new recommendations" on the plan that would "help put the residents at ease."

Upper Saucon, which adopted an Official Map in 2010, hasn't been able to preserve land using the map, "but in terms of trails and future right of way dedication, it's been very, very useful," said Thomas Beil, Upper Saucon's manager, who also sits on Lower Macungie's planning commission.